The 6 Things You Need to Know about DC Universe Online

Two years ago today, DC Universe Online arrived. As a DC Comics fanboy, I took the day off work and lost myself in the streets of Metropolis. Before the weekend, I had two characters level-capped and was moving into the endgame content. But technical hiccups derailed my obsession more than a hundred hours later, and I only popped back now and then to see what the newest DLC brought to the table.

At least until the holiday break a few weeks ago. After ignoring the itch for as long as I could, I dove back into DC Universe Online to polish off the PlayStation 3 Platinum Trophy, and I now find myself re-obsessed. I earned my Trophy weeks ago, but I’m still playing as much as I can. Two years later, I’m finally able to take my main character – Taylor Swift – through all the Raids, Duos and endgame content I want, and that’s a tall order.

I know a lot of people who put down the controller like I did so long ago; people who played for hours at launch, but fell off and haven’t kept up with DCUO’s advancements. Plus, there are tons of people who have looked at the game but haven’t jumped in. So, I thought I’d give you the six things you need to know about DC Universe Online’s last two years. Take this and combine it with the IGN review for the Megazord of DCUO info.

1

It’s Free

Whether you’re a noob or just coming back to some neglected characters, the biggest thing you need to know is that DC Universe Online went free to play on November 1, 2011. Previously, you needed to buy the $60 game and then keep paying a monthly subscription. The move spiked the subscriber count and appears to have worked out quite well as the servers are always packing players.

Not everything is available to players who aren’t spending money – there are three tiers of players from free to $15 a month – but it’s a fine way to hop on and see if the MMO is your thing. PlayStation 3 users take note: free to play players cannot earn Trophies.

2

The Real Game Starts at Level 30

When I tell seasoned MMO players that I hit the level cap with Taylor Swift in just a few days, they scoff, but from the first time I previewed DCUO, the developers told me that was meant to be the case. Hitting Level 30 opens up DCUO’s endgame content, and that’s where I’ve spent the bulk of my time.

See, the true “level grind” in DC Universe Online is all about armor. There are different tiers of armor, and you need to run Duos, Raids and other endgame missions to earn Marks Triumph. This in-game currency can be exchanged for the armor, which raises your combat rating and allows you to take on harder Raids that earn you more Marks. It’s this never-ending cycle of feeling like you’re *this* close to the next awesome piece of armor for your character. Plus, DLC packs keep adding tiers, so this really is the “level” you should care about.

3

Exobits and Exobytes

Insanity awaits.

At the beginning of last year, DCUO added crafting. I jumped on and collected a few exobits, but I had no idea what I was doing or how all the pieces of the puzzle came together. Now, more than 50 in-game hours later, I'm hooked.

It works like this: exobits are littered over Gotham and Metropolis for you to pick up when you spot them. Collect enough exobits, and you can make an exobyte. Collect the right plan, and you can combine the exobytes with crafting materials and whip up armor mods.

Herein lies the cycle of playing DCUO. Even if you have the best armor in the game, the pieces have mod slots where you can equip these crafted goodies. Your best set can get better -- you just have to have the desire to build it. Better armor gets you a better combat rating, which gets you into harder Raids that give you more Marks of Triumph so you can unlock ever better armor quicker.

Basically, if you get bitten by the bug, you always want to be playing.

4

The Economy is Crazy

If collecting exobits sounds like a drag, you can just buy them. In 2011, DCUO added an auction house. Now, players can sell the collections, equipment and crafting materials so many obsess over. Thing is, the economy is totally messed up.

I've level capped six characters, and I usually finish the main path with something like $17,000 in-game cash. In the auction house -- called the Broker -- a stack of 16 aggressive exobits goes anywhere from $1 to $7 million. Raids and Duos don't pay out that much money; the inflated prices come from the inflated marketplace. I was bewildered as to how some people were talking about having $20 million in their wallets, but then I spent an hour collecting my first exobits, put'em on the marketplace, and found myself a multimillionaire. Now, the crazy prices are reasonable. If I want more money, I farm more exobits. When I get tired of farming, I can just buy some.

5

There’s a lot More Content

Game updates and DLC are still coming to DCUO -- we're actually just a few weeks from the game adding hideouts we get to rent and decorate like apartments -- but if you've been ignoring the game since launch, you'll be happy to know there's a bunch of content that'll be new to you. There have been five full-fledged DLC expansions that have added Duos, Raids and single-player content. Fight for the Light even added light as a power so that you can create a character like Green Lantern or Sinesteo.

Of course, your access to the DLC packs will depend on your subscription model. Free players and Premium members need to buy the packs piecemeal. Legendary players -- the ones paying $15 a month -- get the DLC as part of their package.

6

Things Run Better

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It just isn’t the train wreck I remember.

Like I said in the beginning, I kind of broke up with DCUO nearly two months after launch. I was ready to go crazy on Raids and endgame content, but the game's constant crashing, enemies not loading and mic issues drove me away in frustration.

Two years later, DCUO is still far from perfect. The Black Adam Duo still doesn't have sound a lot of the time, mic syncing is still finicky, and I've had plenty of partners tell me after hours of playing together that they just fell through the floor. That said, it's nowhere near as bad as it was when I quit. I've done a bunch of Raids since returning, and I haven't seen the whole thing held up by people freezing over and over again. Grouping and queuing for events is easy, trading works, and it just isn’t the train wreck I remember. That’s awesome.

So…

Are you still playing DC Universe Online? Why or why not? Use that comment field below to let me know, and then send Taylor Swift on the DCUO PS3US servers all your love.